Meyers - Kindle Fire: the book that should have been in the box

Peter Meyers designs, speaks, and writes about digital books. For more than two decades, hes worked at the intersection of writing and technology. He cofounded Digital Learning Interactive, a pioneering multimedia textbook publisher (sold in 2004 to Thomson Learning). Peter has also written about the strange and wonderful effects of computers on mainstream culture for many publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Salon, and the Village Voice. During a five-year tour of duty at OReilly Media he worked in the Missing Manual group, serving as managing editor and associate publisher. Hes also the author of Best iPad Apps and Breaking the Page: Transforming Books and the Reading Experience. Peters undergraduate degree is from Harvard, where he studied American history and literature, and he has an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers Workshop. He lives with his wife and two daughters in upstate Manhattan (aka Washington Heights). Online, you can find his blog at http://newkindofbook.com and his tweets at http://twitter.com/petermeyers.

The Missing Manual series doesnt accept ads, but I cant resist kicking these thanks off with an uncompensated word of gratitude to the makers of Cafe du Monde. Friends, this is some writing-friendly coffee! In the department of humans that helped, Brian Sawyer gave me the green light on this project and to him I am grateful. At Amazon, both Kevin Molloy and Leslie Letts were patient, valuable guides to the Fire. They answered many questions that I would have had to spend hours hunting down on my own. On a related note, technical reviewer Rachel Roumeliotis did a thorough job of spotting missing or confusing explanations. Indexer Ron Strauss put together the subject finder at the back of this book; as a huge fan of that overlooked art, I wanted to say thanks for doing such a great job on that front. What this book contains, of course, is more than just words, and for the finely polished images and labels I wanted to tip my hat to an old pal, Rob Romano. Equally important is Holly Bauers work; each page layout is a beautifully crafted combo of words and pictures thanks to her fine interior design skills. Speaking of prose: My editor Nan Barber has demonstrated why she belongs in the Missing Manual Hall of Fame; thanks to her, with ample help from proofreader Carla Spoon, lots o flab and fuzzy verbiage got trimmed and clarified.

On the home front, this writing project couldnt have happened if not for the help of various NYC-based SilverMeyers who pitched in on the babysitting front. My Mom and Dad, my sister Jen, Aunt Madge, and Grandma and Grandpa Silverman: Thanks to you all for freeing me up to stay in my writing cave. To my girls Willa and Esme: Thank you for giving me the incentive every day to write faster. You wee tots will always be more entertaining than any gadget. And, Ms. Esme, I hope I have succeeded in eliminating enough boring words to make this book interestingthats a tough one! Finally, to Lisa, for giving up almost a full seasons worth of weekends, for supporting her guys gadget jones, and for making it possible for me to do what I love: Thank you; you are the real fire in my life.

Peter Meyers